UFC ON ESPN 50: Diego Lopes vs Gavin Tucker 08/05/2023 Picks, Tips and Forecast

UFC ON ESPN 50: Lopes vs Tucker 08/05/2023 – Featherweight fighters Diego Lopez and Gavin Tucker square off on Saturday, August 5, in a three-round clash that is part of the UFC on ESPN 50 main card. The fight is slated to take place at the at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Matches in the card will start at 9:00 PM ET with ESPN+ covering them on live television and UFC Fight Pass streaming it for Internet subscribers. Lopes is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Movsar Evloev three months ago while Tucker is making a comeback two years after losing to Dan Ige in just 22 seconds. Updated MMA betting odds are already in for sports aficionados who wants to watch live matches on television while earning extra money at the same time.

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Main Card

Diego Lopes

Lopes (21-6, 0-1 UFC) looks to make a big impression the second time around as he steps into the octagon against Tucker. The Manaus native lost his debut fight against against Evloev, who outclassed him in the three-round encounter. Lopes comes into the ring with a five-inch height, three-inch leg reach and 6 1/2-inch reach advantage that he can maximize during the fight. A convincing win against Tucker would move him up the 145-pound ladder and line him up for bigger matches in the future.

In terms of statistics, the Brazilian has stopped 19 opponents with 11 coming by submissions and eight by knockout. He has never lost by submission as he has succumbed twice via knockout and four by decision. Lopes needs to improve on his defense against strikes as he has absorbed 5.24 strikes per minute and his defense proficiency is just 34%. The Brazilian has averaged 2.26 significant strikes per minute and his accuracy rate is 52%. He has yet to connect on his takedown attempts and has successfully defended 36% of the takedowns launched against him. His submission average is 4.17 per 15 minutes.

Gavin Tucker

Tucker (13-2, 4-2 UFC) comes back to the UFC more than two years after getting knocked out by Dan Ige in just 22 seconds. Before the loss, the Canadian is having an impressive run in the octagon winning four of his first five matches and received a Performance of the Night post-fight bonus in his win against Justin Jaynes. The fighter known as “Guv’Nor” is determined to reclaim lost ground and a win against Lopes will be a perfect starting point in his UFC comeback.

However, the 37-year-old fighter needs to overcome disadvantages in height, reach and leg reach in his match against Lopes. He needs to use his strength in grappling to put his foe on the ground and dictate the tempo. After all, he has averaged 2.98 takedowns per 15 minutes at a 42% accuracy rate. He is 53% in takedown defense and has averaged 1.49 submission attempts per 15 minutes. In terms of striking, Tucker has landed 4.39 significant strikes per minute at an accuracy rate of 45%. He has absorbed 4.28 significant strikes per minute and has defended 57% of the strikes launched against him.